Let's end by going back to the beginning. I originally wrote out my KFB goals thusly.
So let's check them one-by-one:
I wanna look good nekkid.
Nothing further needs sayin'.
I want my six pack back.
Back. With a vengance, and some serious core muscles underneath it.
Wanna knock out 10 pull-ups straight.
Done and doable. Wide spread lat grip, tight reverse grip chin-up style, whatever.
Not easy, but so far east of impossible as to be considered routine.
10 hand-stand pushups.
Against the wall, sorted. And as a bonus, I can easily pop into a headstand and chill there for tens of seconds until all the blood pooling in my head makes me wanna pass out.
I want my splits back.
Welcome home. And please say hello to your new friend, the deep wide-angle forward bend. Rotational hip agility is mine and I am loving it.
Balance.
In spades. one minute easy in one foot crane, resting buddha, flying crane. Even better, I have less tendency to fall over when walking around on both feet. (Smacking into furniture in the early morning is still an issue, though. But that's more mental cloudiness than anything.)
What I did NOT get on KFB, but still think is a win: skinny. Actually, I ended KFB several kilos heavier than PCP, but my pants still fit great, and I feel much, much stronger thanks to a truly enlightened core and some serious inner-muscle and inner-ear development.
To wit, compare:
End of PCP in June (flexing hard):
End of KFB this weekend (no flexing, just chillin'):
This is also NOT something I could do at the end of PCP:
Also, at the beginning of KFB I could barely jump up and touch the line, now I can easily clear it:
However my ability to enjoy fine chocolate has not dimished at all:
In all seriousness though, I started PCP and then KFB because I wanted to get healthy wellness, and ultimately see some results in my martial arts training. And I certainly have: I am much more stable, centered and focused. I am physically stronger yet tend to use less strength to move; I feel more efficient and effective, I tire, both physically and mentally, less easily, and generally seem to have a more grounded, stable, and relaxed intention in whatever I do.
Which leads me to my final words...
What To (Not) Expect From KFB (aka, It's Not PCP)
* Change comes from within
PCP changed me in massively obvious ways; muscles replaced fat and anyone who saw me noticed the changes, in my face and arms and back. With KFB, the changes are much more subtle; better posture and balance, developed inner core muscles which are not externally visible, more poise, confidence, and efficiency of movement.
* Notice yourself
On PCP, every morning when I woke up and looked in the mirror I was skinnier and had more muscles. On KFB, every morning when I woke up and sat meditating in zazen on my zafu cushion I felt...tired? Bored? It took a while of really, really paying attention to myself to notice the changes, but they were there. And I am guy who has spent the past decade training in an arcane 300 year-old martial art, even to the point of relearning how to WALK. For the Average Person who doesn't really think about themselves that much, noticing how KFB affects you will be tough. So you need to be mindful, which means the meditation part of KFB is NOT optional. A mirror will not reflect the changes adequately, a zafu will.
* What you eat, how you eat it
On PCP, nutrition is key. Patrick says it's 80% diet, 20% exercise. You can easily skip a workout or two on PCP and not affect your overall results much if at all. But if you stray from the diet, it's a slippery slope from which you will struggle to return.
It is the same on KFB, only what's more important is how you eat, not just what you eat. And by how I don't mean 'chopsticks vs. fork', I mean the attitude you bring to your food. Do you eat breakfast scanning your email on the laptop, with the TV on and the newspaper spread across the kitchen table? Or you do consider the effort you put into steaming your vegetables and scrambling your egg and slicing your fruit? Do you actually notice and enjoy the sweet burst of sugar from every crunchy apple bite, versus the tongue-scalding slimy goodness of shredded cabbage buried inside your over-easy omelet? And can you taste the basil and black pepper? Notice how the flavors hit different parts of the tongue? Does every well-chewed mouthful make you smile? Do you even realize you are full when you are almost done eating? That satisfied but not bloated feeling of well-fed contentment?
A key to success on PCP is focusing on results: do your three months to get it done, to "get in shape" physically and via good wellness habits.
But for KFB, the focus is on the journey; the transformative activities and attitude of DOING it. The results WILL come, but KFB is not to be DONE, it is to DO.
That's not to say PCP is all about mindless exercise and getting ripped, but KFB is much less about measuring the results with the scale and the mirror, and much more about gauging your progress day to day, zitting on a cushion, or in a deep wide-angle forward bend, or walking down the street, or chewing on a tasty fruit snack.
The habits healthfullness I developed on PCP I think prepared me for a life of wellness.
But the self-perception and inner strength (both physically and metaphysically) I learned on KFB have better prepared me for a life of mistakes and imperfection.
Or take massacre an over-used analogy:
PCP taught me how to ride the horse well.
KFB taught me how to get back in the saddle after falling off the horse.
And now, after all this healthfulness, I will take a few year-end weeks off to get fat and lazy. Maybe sometime in spring of next year, I will find myself on my next Patrick-led adventure...6WC...?!
